What I liked:
- Smalltown setting > gives good vibes and beautiful landscapes
- The two sister’s romance plotlines
- Depicted family dynamics, daughters worrying about a stubborn mother with health issues > Many people can probably relate to that
- Youngest sister and her daughter -> Their relationship was just heartwarming. The daughter is so mature for her age… you could even think her behavior is more mature than the ML’s 😊
- Everyone knows everyone feels like an realistic depiction of a smalltown setting
- How everyone in town stood up for samdalri and protected her
- The fight between the two towns and the ahjummas on their vehicles (I have been contemplating for over 15 minutes about how the vehicles are called… but I just can’t remember. I feel a bit dumbfoundet. But yeah if I remember I will edit it) were genuinely funny scenes
- Kyung Tae and his romance plotline (which sadly fell very short)

Now what I disliked:
- 2 guys waiting for a woman over 8 years without progressing and expressing their feelings was too much for my taste
- Again, what a boring SML, what a boring way to execute a love triangle, unrealistic and upsetting
- Poorly executed/written flashbacks: I don’t dislike flashbacks in general. But you should do them do well otherwise it seems like poor writing. It’s super boring to include flashbacks in a romance storyline. Either be confident in your romance story and let us viewers start the story where the flashbacks begin or keep them simple. There were so many flashbacks in the romance story. At least in the beginning. The flashbacks in this drama room away for progression, story, and character development. At least it felt like the drama was going on and on without moving forward… instead relying on flashback love mystery that even turned out to be a letdown.
- The grudge of ML father was getting on my nerves. Combined with the miscommunication of the two leads. They were adults but acted childish.
- I couldn’t connect to the main characters and their romance was boring. Shin Hye Sun is an amazing actress and belongs to my favorites. I know this woman can act! I loved and absolutely adored Mr. Queen and Shin Hye Sun in it. That show gave her room to shine. Welcome to Samdalri on the other hand appeared to not be able to use her talent. The way her character was written/edited/portrayed was not my taste. I’m mean I can still respect her work and her acting and I am able to differentiate between her as a person and her different characters. Writing-wise See you in my 19th life and Welcome to Samdalri were disappointing in my eyes. Didn’t help that the chemistry between the leads as their characters was missing. Take a look at how Shin Hye Sun shines in a drama with intriguing characters and good production/writing, like in Mr. Queen. Still think her acting and chemistry with Kim Jung Hyun is unmatched. I also loved Thirty but Seventeen and Angels last mission: Love (even though I’m not sure about the quality of the plot in the last one… I loved it when it aired though). I always wonder why some dramas click and others don’t – Well one thing is for sure… it can’t be Shin Hye Sun acting.
- The drinking scenes > They used excessive drinking as a device to move forward with the plot. This was quite poorly done and overused in this drama. I’m familiar with Korean drinking culture. And I am aware that alcohol can be a big part of a culture (I’m german). Nevertheless, I wish they would sometimes take a more serious approach and see the drinking habits of the characters through a more critical lens. In this drama they even ran in circles with their plot progression because of their drunk scenes.
- I want to be honest- After being half-way through the drama I started to skip the scenes I wasn’t interested in

I can understand why someone would love this show. I can respect if others rate this drama differently. In the end taste is subjective 😊 This was just my experience with the drama.

If you are wondering where this rating stands in my rating system:
9, 9.5, 10 : Personal Favourite / 8, 8.5: Great / 7, 7.5: Really Good/ 6, 6.5 Good/ 4.5, 5, 5.5: OK / 3, 3.5, 4: Bad/ 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 : Horrible